TATE: Tough early games offer little time for teams to ‘tune up’

Loren Tate, Illini Lines

Published
3:48 pm CDT, Monday, August 29, 2016

In a reasonable approach, John Groce’s Illini will open the basketball season with exhibitions against Josh Whitman’s former school, Washington University of St. Louis, on Oct. 30 and Romeoville’s Lewis University on Nov. 4.

Two opportunities to tune up and test the reserves.

By contrast, the college football season hits this week like a cold shower. Whambo! Sixteen games on Thursday night, highlighted by Oregon State at Minnesota. Friday night’s slate features Kansas State at Stanford, and Michigan State hosting Furman.

Which raises the question: If pro and college basketball engage in preseason schedules, and the NFL plays four exhibitions, why are so many powerhouse college football programs putting themselves at risk with stiff openers before they have a full reading of their squads?

First, let’s agree that the idea of four NFL exhibitions is nonsense. Two would be plenty.

But it will continue because the owners can charge their season-ticket holders for preseason games even though the outcomes are irrelevant. It’s a money grab, leaving NFL coaches with a difficult decision whether or not to play their stars.

Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett surely regrets using quarterback and former Eastern Illinois product Tony Romo Thursday against Seattle. In a brief appearance, Romo was crunched on a tackle and sustained a compression fracture in his back that will require up to 10 weeks of recovery. Generally speaking, Dallas has won games with Romo at the controls, and lost badly when he’s been sidelined.

Perhaps it makes sense for NFL coaches to test their young and marginal players in a couple of exhibitions. But regardless of the number of games, it seems illogical to use ANY of their high-paid difference-makers this month.

Why would you risk injury to a top running back like the 49ers’ Carlos Hyde (concussion) or Baltimore QB Joe Flacco (knee)? Does Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski have something to prove?

All this brings us back to the question of tackling in practice. The Illini look back on Rantoul sessions where previous coaches oversaw heavy tackling and game-type tuneups.

The UI’s Lovie Smith doubled down with his comments, saying: “I’ve been in the business a long time, and there are few places that tackle to the ground. Who’d do that?”

Smith compared it to boxers, who use sparring partners for practice rounds but don’t go for knockouts.

“Quarterbacks don’t have to take blows in practice,” Smith said. “It would be stupid to do that. I don’t believe in tackling to the ground.”

But some still do, though QBs often remain untouched. Michigan and Michigan State, who’ll tangle with the Illini this season, take advantage of deep squads and continue to tackle and hold closed scrimmages. So does overachieving Minnesota, among others.

Andy Reid, who led the Kansas City Chiefs to Saturday’s 23-7 exhibition defeat of the Chicago Bears, is “old-school.”

“We still tackle to the ground in practice,” Reid said. “Tackling in the NFL is not very good. I think it helps players to protect themselves.”

It remains an ongoing debate. The Chiefs have been fortunate thus far in avoiding injuries while going all-out in practice. By contrast, the Cowboys regret putting Romo at risk because it turned out badly.

Smith has used his no-tackling system to produce strong NFL defensive units in the past, and he has good reason to continue that policy at Illinois because depth is a concern, and especially so in support of Wes Lunt at quarterback and Ke’Shawn Vaughn at running back. Vaughn noted Monday that Illinois conducted three major preseason scrimmages a year ago, with only the QB off limits.

Loren Tate writes for The Champaign News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com